China’s new Judicial Interpretation on Plant Varieties harmonized IP protection for plant varieties with other reforms in IP laws in China. It also reflects China’s increasing efforts to accelerate agricultural reforms including strengthening legal protection for germplasm resources.
IP Enforcement is the Focus of This Year’s China IP Series
Beginning October 6, 2021, Berkeley Law begins a four-part series on IP enforcement in China. The highly successful four-part SEP series of Prof Hao Yuan continues on October 15 with a discussion of the role of antitrust in SEP licensing and litigation.
u-blox v Techtotop: China’s Developing Jurisprudence on Evidentiary Burden Shifting
Hangzhou court makes cutting edge decision in July 2021 in copyright case of u-blox v. Techotop by drawing adverse inferences as to copying based on Defendant’s refusal to produce code to challenge prima facie evidence of infringement, relying on a 2001 Judicial Interpretation.
Rethinking US IP Diplomacy: The Role of Civil Remedies
US trade diplomacy is under-emphasizing civil remedies. Increasing criminal IP enforcement can be inconsistent with US domestic policies of utilizing criminal remedies when a civil remedy is inadequate as well as our international goals of protecting of IP as a private property right and incentivizing market mechanisms in economies such as China.
What the 301 Report Says About Future Relations on IP with China
USTR released its Special 301 Report (the “Report”) on April 30, 2021. The China except is attached here. The Report addresses a wider range of IP issues than in many prior years. […]
Civil Procedure Flow Chart Available
I have posted a draft Chinese civil procedure flow chart that highlights unique aspects of China’s Civil Procedure Law. Please feel free to comment.
Due Process and ASI’s: Wuhan and Texas
There are now numerous IP cases where foreign judges have decided that Chinese courts failed to provide adequate notice or procedural transparency. Should concerns over a failure to comply with general notions of due process, including notice or access to counsel mandate that a court limit the impact of a foreign court’s anti-suit injunction?
Supreme People’s Court Calls for Public Comments on Enforcement of Intellectual Property Judgments
Addendum of April 18, 2020: Here is an English language unofficial translation of the Implementation Plan and the Guidelines for reference purposes. If you see any errors, please advise us by comments […]
Wang Binying and the Opportunity within the WIPO Crisis
The vote for WIPO Director General will be made in early March. The Chinese candidate, Madame Wang Binying, is known to many in the foreign IP community in China, IP diplomats, and […]
The Phase 1 IP Agreement: Its Fans and Discontents

How much will the IP Sections of the Phase 1 Agreement (the “Agreement”) with China change IP strategies in China? For the most part, the Agreement adds much less than its appearance might […]